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bobcomer

macrumors 601
May 18, 2015
4,949
3,699
I'll probably be buying an Alder Lake laptop, but maybe a desktop, who knows -- but it wont be long.
 
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quarkysg

macrumors 65816
Oct 12, 2019
1,247
841
A fast CPU also needs to be paired with a capable sub-system. I'm still trying to understand Apple's decision to put 200 - 400 GB/s of bandwidth into a notebook form factor. This is essentially the bandwidth you get at the workstation and server category. Not even the Intel Mac Pro has such high memory bandwidth.

I'm expecting real world tasks to be jaw droopingly fast for these M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBooks.
 

sunny5

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 11, 2021
1,838
1,706
Aren't you the one who started this thread? Clearly, you accept the premise that they can be compared. Or are you saying that Intel's newer architecture and core count advantage are negated by Apple's node advantage?
The manufacturer processing is a huge difference so it would be better to compare with Intel 5nm.
 

huge_apple_fangirl

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2019
769
1,301
The manufacturer processing is a huge difference so it would be better to compare with Intel 5nm.
Hard to make a comparison to something that doesn't exist :)

Yes, Apple has a node advantage. Do you deny that Alder Lake also uses Intel's most recent architecture and has more cores, compared to M1 Pro/Max? It probably also has a much higher clock speed. They both have advantages independent of the specific architecture. You shouldn't discount all of Intel's advantages and focus only on Apple's node advantage. And if you think no comparison is fair, why start this thread?
 

sunny5

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 11, 2021
1,838
1,706
Hard to make a comparison to something that doesn't exist :)

Yes, Apple has a node advantage. Do you deny that Alder Lake also uses Intel's most recent architecture and has more cores, compared to M1 Pro/Max? It probably also has a much higher clock speed. They both have advantages independent of the specific architecture. You shouldn't discount all of Intel's advantages and focus only on Apple's node advantage. And if you think no comparison is fair, why start this thread?
Why not?
 

sunny5

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 11, 2021
1,838
1,706
I mean, you started a thread comparing Alder Lake to M1 Max. Now you say that because Apple has a node advantage, no comparison is fair. It's a little confusing.
What does it has to do with two topics? Those are separate comparisons and yet you are making me confused.
 

Mr Screech

macrumors 6502
Mar 2, 2018
260
264
Isn't that Intel part twice the TDP of the M1 Pro's CPU? Alder Lake seems to pack a lot of technology, but it isn't here yet, and uses close to twice the power. Not exactly a fair comparison.
They're both mobile chips coming out this month, so it seems fair.
TDP is a choice a brand makes, why gimp your mobile workstation range with TDP when you cater for high performance needs which will be plugged in most of the time.
 

alee

macrumors 6502a
Jul 13, 2008
856
1,302
New York, NY
Faster in *what* is the only thing that matters. These raw benchmarks are all meaningless vs real world. What will matter is things like real life render times for things like 8K and RAW image processing.

And of course benching against Intel is pointless as that ship has sailed. Apple is not going back to Intel, and code is moving towards being optimized for Apple silicon only. Say goodbye to Intel instruction sets which make it impossible to compare like for like.

We also know Apple has developed a pretty tremendous chip design and manufacturing prowess in partnership with TMSC. We're going to see innovations annually. Intel cannot keep up on this front for sure. Even if they end up all being roughly the same performance per watt, Apple wins if they don't need to pay the Intel tax. Same with GPUs like nVidia.
 

zakarhino

Contributor
Sep 13, 2014
2,611
6,963
why gimp your mobile workstation range with TDP when you cater for high performance needs which will be plugged in most of the time.

true. the upcoming 'high power mode' should be something people can turn on by default when plugged in for max processing power.
 

bobcomer

macrumors 601
May 18, 2015
4,949
3,699
They're both mobile chips coming out this month, so it seems fair.
TDP is a choice a brand makes, why gimp your mobile workstation range with TDP when you cater for high performance needs which will be plugged in most of the time.
That's me. TDP means very little, raw benchmarks mean more, and what software it runs and if it's fast enough for the job is what I look for.

I really, really, don't understand why TDP is even talked about that much around here. It's a total yawn for me.
 
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cbautis2

macrumors 6502a
Aug 17, 2013
894
1,106

Under sustained load, Intel will power throttle that chip to its 45W TDP (no boost) thus slowing down to probably around turbo boosted 11980HK unlike the M1 Max where it can provide 24/7 full sustained power at 30W (not GPU included) as long as thermal throttling is not a factor
 

cbautis2

macrumors 6502a
Aug 17, 2013
894
1,106
That's me. TDP means very little, raw benchmarks mean more, and what software it runs and if it's fast enough for the job is what I look for.

I really, really, don't understand why TDP is even talked about that much around here. It's a total yawn for me.

TDP tells you its sustained load as the power states programmed by Intel is limited to its TDP at full sustained loads
 

Gabebear

macrumors regular
Nov 14, 2018
125
192
They're both mobile chips coming out this month, so it seems fair.
TDP is a choice a brand makes, why gimp your mobile workstation range with TDP when you cater for high performance needs which will be plugged in most of the time.
Intel is possibly going to announce the chip this month, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t available in a real product before 2022. Intel has a strong track record of underdelivering the last few years. https://www.anandtech.com/show/12271/intel-mentions-10nm-briefly
 

sunny5

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 11, 2021
1,838
1,706
TDP tells you its sustained load as the power states programmed by Intel is limited to its TDP at full sustained loads
TDP standard is totally different for each brands so it's pointless to compare only with TDP. The actual power consumption is vastly different for each CPU.
 
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cbautis2

macrumors 6502a
Aug 17, 2013
894
1,106
TDP standard is totally different for each brands so it's pointless to compare only with TDP. The actual power consumption is vastly different for each CPU.

Package power doesn't stay that much different from TDP. Unless you put that 12900HK processor on an unlocked BIOS with can force that P0 state indefinitely with overclock to boot under full load (maybe in laptops that are like 1.5 to 2" thick like those Eurocom laptops), but for apples to apples comparison, a similar multimedia laptop with that chip and its package power under sustained load will definitely throttle to either base speed or 0.1-0.3 GHz above it (pegging its package power to ~45-50W) and now it's a lot slower than M1 Max at full sustained load (with the assumption that M1 Max can run at full speed indefinitely). After looping Cinebench for 100 times, you can see how much performance degradation that Intel chip has (maybe 15-20% down) compared to M1 Max which would still be the same as the first test (no thermal throttling)
 

sunny5

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 11, 2021
1,838
1,706
Package power doesn't stay that much different from TDP. Unless you put that 12900HK processor on an unlocked BIOS with can force that P0 state indefinitely with overclock to boot under full load (maybe in laptops that are like 1.5 to 2" thick like those Eurocom laptops), but for apples to apples comparison, a similar multimedia laptop with that chip and its package power under sustained load will definitely throttle to either base speed or 0.1-0.3 GHz above it (pegging its package power to ~45-50W) and now it's a lot slower than M1 Max at full sustained load (with the assumption that M1 Max can run at full speed indefinitely). After looping Cinebench for 100 times, you can see how much performance degradation that Intel chip has (maybe 15-20% down) compared to M1 Max which would still be the same as the first test (no thermal throttling)
For Intel, it does.
 

Sullivan0930

Suspended
Oct 14, 2021
168
452
yes its faster, and it probably will have your fans on turbo as soon as you open chrome. 90% of the success of the M1 is the power combined with the efficiency and cooling of the system. Intel has never been efficient or had a chip that didnt need to be undervolted imo.
 
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